Cam Cole - Mama

Sometimes, the twiddling and tweaking of the classics opens up new avenues that allow for musical exploration. That’s the excuse I gave when I debuted my new musical creation, extreme rap death metal, to an unsuspecting audience of the family pets when I was much younger, anyway. The budgie didn’t think much of it, but I assume the unhinged howling of the two dogs was out of solidarity, rather than barely retrained primal hatred. Art is all about getting a reaction, I guess. 

Someone who is much better at creating new from old is Cam Cole. The journey between busking on the streets of London to a 2025 Glastonbury slot, with three albums and all sorts of acclaim in between, is not only a testament to just how dedicated the Englishman is to his one-man band craft, but also to just how good he is at it.  His blend of bluesy licks run through the absolute swampiest of pedals and distorted vocal effects, amplifying what would be your usually expected fare to levels of bone-rattling rock and roll at high volumes. Seriously, run this through any speaker you have at a level where it warns you about hearing damage, and you’ll lose the tiles off your bathroom walls*.

With that in mind, you know exactly how we here at Rock Song of the Week intend you to enjoy Mama – loud, louder, and loudest at your convenience. Fun fact – if you’re an avid watcher of the show Ted Lasso, you may recognise Cam Cole as the busker-turned-showstopper at the Richmond FC Christmas party. Sometimes art does imitate life – and with the show coming back for another season, maybe my extreme rap death metal dreams aren’t dead just yet. Just make sure there aren’t any pets present at the taping.

* We here at Rock Song of the Week do not recommend going above the recommended volume limit for your devices for health and safety reasons. We can’t speak for fun reasons for similar, legally binding reasons.